Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 9.djvu/247

215 to me in the city, and I will entreat thee with honour.’ So he took the platter full of gold and returned to the village, driving the bulls before him and deeming himself kin to the king. Meanwhile, they brought Marouf girls of the brides of the treasure, who smote on instruments of music and danced before him, and he passed the night in joyance and delight, a night not to be reckoned among lives.

Hardly had the day dawned when there arose a great cloud of dust, which, presently lifting, discovered seven hundred mules laden with stuffs and attended by muleteers and baggage-tenders and linkmen. With them came Aboussaadat, riding on a mule, in the guise of a caravan-leader, and before him was a travelling-litter, with four volutes of glittering red gold, set with jewels. When Aboussaadat came up to the tent, he dismounted and kissing the earth, said to Marouf, ‘O my lord, thine occasion hath been accomplished in full, and in the litter is a treasure-suit that hath not its match among kings’ raiment: so do thou don it and mount the litter and command us what thou wilt.’ ‘O Aboussaadat,’ said Marouf, ‘I wish thee to go to the city of Ikhtiyan el Khuten and carry a letter, which I will write thee, to my father-in-law the king; and go thou not in to him but in the guise of a mortal courier.’ And he answered, ‘I hear and obey.’

So Marouf wrote the letter and sealed it and Aboussaadat took it and set out to deliver it to the king. When he arrived, he found the king saying, ‘O vizier, indeed my heart is concerned for my son-in-law and I fear lest the Arabs slay him. Would he had told me whither he was bound, that I might have followed him with the troops!’ ‘May God have mercy on this thy heedlessness!’ answered the vizier. ‘As thy head liveth, the fellow saw that we